Into which sea do both the Elbe and the Rhine rivers drain their water?

Both the Elbe and the Rhine flow north-west across Europe and empty into the North Sea, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and France.

About the Rhine:

• It is about 1,230 km long.
• It rises in the Swiss Alps (near Lake Toma in the canton of Graubunden).
• It flows through Lake Constance and forms parts of the borders of Switzerland with Liechtenstein, Austria and Germany, and of Germany with France.
• It then flows north through Germany, past Cologne and Dusseldorf, and enters the Netherlands.
• In the Netherlands, it divides into several branches forming a delta with the Meuse, and enters the North Sea near Rotterdam, one of the largest ports in Europe.
• The Rhine is the busiest inland waterway in Europe, carrying huge amounts of goods to and from the Ruhr industrial region.
• The Rhine Falls near Schaffhausen (Switzerland) is the largest waterfall in Europe by volume.
• The Lorelei rock and the Rhine Gorge, with castles and vineyards, are famous scenic and UNESCO-listed areas.

About the Elbe:

• It is about 1,100 km long.
• It rises in the Krkonose (Giant) Mountains in the Czech Republic, where it is called the Labe.
• It flows through Bohemia, then north-west through Germany, past Dresden, Magdeburg and Hamburg.
• It enters the North Sea near Cuxhaven.
• Hamburg, on the Elbe, is Germany's largest port.
• In 1945, American and Soviet troops met on the Elbe at Torgau ("Elbe Day") near the end of the Second World War.

Other rivers and seas of Europe:

• The Thames, Weser, Scheldt and Meuse also drain into the North Sea.
• The Vistula and Oder drain into the Baltic Sea.
• The Kiel Canal in Germany connects the North Sea with the Baltic Sea.

Why not the other options?

• ✗The Baltic Sea receives the Vistula, Oder and Neva.
• ✗The Black Sea receives the Danube, Dnieper and Don (via the Sea of Azov).
• ✗The Mediterranean Sea receives the Rhone, Po, Ebro and Nile.